Stepping Toward Hope

This show was my second show with Out of the Blue Gallery, a wonderful gallery in Cambridge, MA. Similarly to my previous work, this show was marked by themes of injustice and the longing of the refugee, but it was simultaneously infused with the light of strength and perseverance. For example, my favorite painting from this show is “Watering Baghdad,” which portrays an Iraqi child watering her garden. It includes a portrait of a homeless man in my neighborhood who lives in spiritual solidarity with Palestinian refugees all over the world. It also includes a very personal painting, “When I Shall Be Free,” which expresses my sense of displacement and isolation as a refugee in a prosperous land. Scenes of devastation coexist with scenes of hope, which embodies my constant conviction that life does not stop, and it is still beautiful despite everything.